Polarization recovery in lead zirconate titanate thin films deposited on nanosheets-buffered Si (001)

Abstract

Fatigue behavior of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) films is one of the deterrent factors that limits the use of these films in technological applications. Thus, understanding and minimization of the fatigue behavior is highly beneficial for fabricating reliable devices using PZT films. We have investigated the fatigue behavior of preferentially oriented PZT films deposited on nanosheets-buffered Si substrates using LaNiO3 bottom and top electrodes. The films show fatigue of up to 10% at 100 kHz, whereas no fatigue has been observed at 1 MHz. This frequency dependence of the fatigue behavior is found to be in accordance with Dawber–Scott fatigue model that explains the origin of the fatigue as migration of oxygen vacancies. Interestingly, a partial recovery of remnant polarization up to ∼97% of the maximum value is observed after 4×109 cycles which can be further extended to full recovery by increasing the applied electric field. This full recovery is qualitatively explained using kinetic approach as a manifestation of depinning of domains walls. The understanding of the fatigue behavior and polarization recovery that is explained in this paper can be highly useful in developing more reliable PZT devices.

Influence of the Template Layer on the Structure and Ferroelectric Properties of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 Films

“…It is explained mainly by two models. The first model explains the polarization decrease with the migration and accumulation of oxygen vacancies at the film–electrode interface, causing domain pinning and charge screening. − The second model considers the interfacial layer injecting electrons into the ferroelectric layer, leading to decomposition of the ferroelectric layer. − The existence of such an interfacial layer in the PLD PZT films has recently been proven using TEM measurements …”

Layer growth and hysteresis modelling of epitaxial lead zirconate titanate thin films

“…The first model explains the polarization decrease with the migration and accumulation of oxygen vacancies at the film-electrode interface, causing domain pinning and charge screening. [70][71][72][73][74][75]. The second model considers the interfacial layer injecting electrons to the ferroelectric layer, leading to decomposition of the ferroelectric layer.…”